RESUMO
Viscum album L. is a widely used medicinal plant in cancer treatment, known since ancient times. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimetastatic properties of the ethanolic extracts of synergistic plants V. album L. (epiphyte) and Abies alba (host) used alone or in combination (mixture). Inhibition of platelet aggregation was evaluated in washed rabbit and human platelets. Levels of thromboxane A2 (TXA2 ) were estimated by radioimmune assay and natural killer cells (NKCs) cytotoxicity by flow cytometry. The antimetastatic properties of V. album L. and A. alba were studied in a tumor-bearing Wistar rat model. All extracts inhibited platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner as well as TXA2 production by three pathways of aggregation (adenosine diphosphate, platelet-activating factor, and arachidonic acid) while the mixture significantly increased NKCs cytotoxicity against cancer cells. In tumor-bearing Wistar rats, the treatment with the mixture of V. album L. and A. alba extract reduced the metastatic locations almost by 77%. These data suggest that V. album L. and A. alba extract reduced metastasis through inhibition of platelet aggregation and amplification of the body defense mechanisms against cancer cells.
RESUMO
To report a case of intraocular metastasis from breast carcinoma. A 54-year-old woman diagnosed with multifocal ductal adenocarcinoma, grade III, of the left breast presented with blurred vision of the left eye. Funduscopy under pupil dilation in the left eye revealed a plateau-shaped, yellow choroidal focus measuring 4 optic disc diameters and located 3 optic disc diameters below the fovea. The patient was treated with two cycles of docetaxel and capecitabine. One month later the patient's visual acuity improved. Funduscopy confirmed reduction of oedema. This case shows that impaired vision can be an alarming symptom in a breast cancer patient and a description is given of the morphological features that could help in recognizing the smallest detectable breast cancer metastasis